Legal Services

The vendor is required to provide from multiple-qualified licensed, insured, and bonded firms to provide a wide range of legal services.
- These services are a necessary supplement to the daily operation of the agency and are divided into three general categories, as follows: general counsel, litigation services, and summary process.
1. General counsel: Services to be provided as general counsel and included under the monthly retainer fee include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Review and attendance of agency’s board meetings; governance requirements contained in the relevant code of federal regulations (cfr), the agency’s policies and procedures and bylaws and actions that will put the agency at risk for liability exposure.
• Regulations pertaining to federal, state, and local government, including housing, municipal/state housing authority, routine real estate, procurement, and contractual issues.
• Civil rights and fair housing requirements, including but not limited to claims involving violations of the civil rights act of 1964, the rehabilitation act of 1973 and the americans with disabilities act (ADA).
• Employment issues, including personnel rules; collective bargaining agreements; discrimination and wrongful termination claims; worker's compensation and compliance with osha requirement(s)
• CHRO complaints
• As may be further detailed herein, the agency may, on an as-needed basis, require the successful proposer(s) to provide services pertaining to agency-related matters within the following areas, each pertaining to applicable federal, state, and local regulations, statutes, laws, and codes:
a. tax credit transactions, including low-income housing tax credit transactions
b. Department rental assistance demonstration transactions
c. Department streamlined voluntary conversion transactions
d. Opportunity zones and similar programs
e. Community development block grants
f. public housing programs
g. Housing choice voucher programs
h. country department of housing and urban development
i. department of housing programs
j. State housing finance authority programs
k. State landlord and tenant laws
l. Other federal, state, and local funding mechanisms
m. Human resources
n. Accounting and finance and related audits
o. Money and banking
p. Maintenance & operations
q. Information technology
r. Entity termination, including partnerships
s. Real estate entity formation
t. Real estate and development
u. Construction law
v. Development and modernization, rehabilitation and mitigation projects
• The agency shall retain the right to have the successful proposer(s) provide services in any matter that the agency believes the legal firm is qualified to provide and if, in the opinion of the executive director and the board of commissioners, it is in the best interests of the agency
• The agency reserves the right to approve any decision to add additional staff to consult on matters already under review, and the successful proposer(s) must declare beforehand whether inclusion of the additional staff would incur additional staff hours and applicable rate as proposed on the fee schedule.
• The successful proposer(s) does not have a qualified person in-house to provide any services required by the agency, the successful proposer(s) may retain another counsel with such a qualified person on staff.
• Any billing and payment for such additional counsel will be at the same hourly rate as the fee schedule or the lesser of actual cost incurred
• The successful proposer(s) may not add additional costs for retaining and overseeing such additional counsel.
• The agency reserves the right to retain outside counsel for areas outside of the proposer’s scope of expertise and would contract directly with said counsel.
• The agency reserves the right to, at any time during the ensuing contract period, and without penalty to the legal counsel retained as a result of this RFP, conduct additional competitive solicitations to retain additional legal counsel when, in the opinion of the executive director and/or the board of commissioners, it is in the best interests of the agency.
2. Litigation services: services to be provided by the successful proposer(s) for litigation services shall include, but are not limited to the following:
• Representation in litigation in local, state, and federal courts, and administrative hearings in accordance with department litigation guidelines.
• Counsel the agency management to avoid legally unsound decisions that may lead to litigation.
• Prepare position papers on various legal issues including the interpretation of contractual provisions; address policy coverage disputes, labor contracts and negotiations, personnel grievances and general coverage questions/interpretations, etc.
3. Summary process: services to be provided by the successful proposer(s) for summary process suits shall include, but are not limited to the following:
• The agency shall require general legal service in connection with the management and operation of its public programs on matters related to summary process (including such matters as telephone advice, preventive lawyering sessions, appellate work beyond the initial eviction action, and direct consultations regarding problem cases, including cases involving the state’s human rights commission, recovery on fraud cases, and any other matters that arise on a case-by-case basis).
- Contract Period/Term: 1 year
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: March 18, 2025